After dominating Pachuca 3-0 in Qatar to capture the Intercontinental Cup, Real Madrid are back in the Spanish capital to take on Sevilla in LaLiga this weekend after dropping more points in the league last Saturday to Rayo Vallecano.
Real Madrid are the clear favorites on Matchday 18, and nothing less than a win will suffice against a Sevilla side that continues to linger in the bottom half of the table, though they are improving during the course of the current campaign.
In order for the Merengues to avoid yet another disappointing result in the league, here are five players on the team who must step up the most this weekend.
LW Kylian Mbappe
Left winger Kylian Mbappe has usually been utilized as a center forward since Real Madrid have quite literally the best pure, out-and-out winger in world football in Vinicius Junior, who further proved that point on Wednesday in Qatar.
But Mbappe wasn’t half bad in that win either, as he scored in a second straight match, returning with aplomb from a hamstring injury to combine with Vinicius in terrorizing the Pachuca defense.
Without Vinicius Jr. on the wing, the show is Mbappe’s to run, and in addition to better finishing, Real Madrid are looking for a truly composed, all-around display on the wing from their highly-paid French superstar.
Mbappe has to lead the defense from the front, relentlessly attack and win the one-on-ones he hasn’t this season, and provide both a creative and a goal threat that leads to a tangible result on the scoreboard.
If that sounds like a lot to ask for, it is, but that’s exactly why Real Madrid signed Mbappe in the first place, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered allocating so much in bonuses and salary to another forward after winning LaLiga and the Champions League.
RW Arda Guler
Arda Guler is undoubtedly a talented player, and he should get another opportunity to start his weekend with Mbappe and Rodrygo both shifting one space over to the left amidst Vini Jr.’s suspension.
Although Guler had two assists last week, he failed to make an actual impact, since those assists were simple passes to players who scored from outside the box. Guler didn’t take enough initiative in one-on-ones, off the ball, or front of goal, carrying no real threat in a game that was end-to-end and finished 3-3.
Real Madrid, likewise, are going to expect a lot from Guler if the Turkish international wants to start at the age of 19, simply because there is such a high bar set for forwards in the team’s starting XI.
Against Sevilla, Guler will have to deal with a team that is going to go all-out to defend on the road against Real Madrid and make this game ugly. Funny enough, Guler might actually prefer this environment to the one in Rayo, because he’ll get more of the ball and can slip into tight pockets of space, weaving through defenders instead of feeling lost at sea.
CB Aurelien Tchouameni
Sevilla are probably going to go with the age-old strategy of sitting back against Real Madrid, defending with like nine guys, and then hoping to catch the Merengues out on the break with one of their athletic forwards getting in behind a sleeping defender.
The other way Sevilla can score is on set pieces or balls played in the box, and Real Madrid have two fullbacks who are on the shorter side and with defensive question marks in Lucas Vazquez and Fran Garcia.
But really, to most Real Madrid fans watching the last couple of games, the biggest weakness on these kinds of plays in the back four is Aurelien Tchouameni, who was superb as a center back last season against lower-tier opponents but has been, in all honesty, embarrassed by Atalanta and Rayo Vallecano.
With less luck on the part of the forwards, Tchouameni would be under more tense scrutiny, and Sevilla are probably circling the makeshift center back as the biggest weakness to target because of his lack of adequate training at the position.
Tchouameni actually did a better job of coming across to help Vazquez against Pachuca, but the same basic marking errors remained, though Pachuca did not have the quality to exploit them.
The 24-year-old has to take better command of his box and anticipate runs in transition, because just one moment of inattention could mean the difference between victory and more points dropped in the title race.
LB Fran Garcia
Fran Garcia turned in a strong defensive display against Pachuca, but we’ve yet to see the former Rayo Vallecano left back do the same this season against better opposition, including even a fairly mediocre Rayo side last week.
As detailed earlier, Fran is drawing the toughest assignment in the Sevilla attack this Sunday, as Dodi Lukebakio has scored seven goals from the right wing for an otherwise poor Nervionenses attack,
Lukebakio has the athletic ability and even the shooting quality to turn half-chances into gold, and much like left-footed right winger Samuel Chukwueze tore Real Madrid apart a couple of seasons ago for a brace, so, too, could Dodi on Sunday.
Fran needs to be more assertive in one-on-ones. If he’s going to go for the tackle, then he needs to go for it and be physical with the winger instead of retreating back, leaving himself vulnerable to falling flat on his face after eating a double move.
The young Real Madrid left back can’t let Lukebakio use his strength and explosiveness to get inside him. He needs to keep Lukebakio to the outside and not take unnecessary gambles, which have so often been his downfall since moving back to the Spanish capital in 2023.
CM Fede Valverde
We all know what a game-changer Fede Valverde can be, and without his ridiculous goal from range last weekend, Real Madrid would have certainly lost to their local rivals.
Although Fede is still playing well for Los Blancos, he has cooled from a torrid start to the season in which he was legitimately the team’s best player. Now, Fede is back in the middle of the pack, and Carlo Ancelotti should be challenging him to step up and fulfill his potential as the best No. 8 in the world.
To do that, Fede needs to be more present when it comes to taking over games as a progressor and creator, because performances like the one against Rayo aren’t good enough for someone vying to be at the level of a club legend, which should be Fede’s goal benchmark.
He has the talent, intellect, leadership, and intangibles to be the best in the world. Sevilla represent a great test for the Uruguayan, because they have veterans like Saul and young talents who are athletic.
Fede needs to be at his best athletically and cerebrally against Sevilla to help Real Madrid both control the game and convert possession into real, quality chances for the forwards.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.